


Running on adrenaline and two glasses of whiskey

by DiDaydreamer



Category: Whitechapel (TV)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 04:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1884723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiDaydreamer/pseuds/DiDaydreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the aftermath of a case that could have ended in tragedy Chandler and Miles have a heart to heart</p>
            </blockquote>





	Running on adrenaline and two glasses of whiskey

The incident room is gloomy and quiet. The light from the open door is casting long shadows over the walls.

Chandler fumbles after the light switch, hands trembling with left over energy and nerves.   
Shaking fingers slips over smooth plastic, waking the overhead lights with startled blinks. He practically falls into the chair behind his desk, letting out a tiered sigh, giving voice to the relief over a bad day finally over. 

He drags out the canter of whiskey, filling two glasses, and for the first time in almost an hour acknowledge the man who has seated himself in the chair opposite of him. 

Chandler wraps his fingers delicately around the glass, letting the silence between them drag out. 

On the other side of the desk, Miles is twirling his glass around and around. Waiting for the words that seem to be lodged in the DI's throat. 

Chandler takes a sip of the amber liquid, letting it burn down is throat. Trying to pick what words to use, and which to disregard. 

After what feels like a small eternity, Chandler fixes Miles with a sharp gaze. Miles shift in the chair, feeling pierced by eyes full of both anger and anxiety.

“I told you to stay put”

The words, when they finally come, are soft. But the sharp accusation in the quiet tone is slipping through. 

And Miles does the only thing he seem to be able to do in situations like this. He snaps an accusation back at his DI.

“You know what could, would, have happened if I had done that.”

Chandler exhale slowly. Eyes closing, as the events form earlier that day played before his minds eye.

“We need backup!”

“We can't wait for them to show up!”

“You are not going in there!”

“.....”

“No!!! Don't!! Miles stay here!”

Chandler blinks to make the images disappear.

The man had taken his ex wife and 5 year old son hostage.

A shotgun was resting heavily in his hands, the weapon pointing towards the terrified mother and child.

They requested backup, but for some reason they were taking their time. Until Miles had declared that he had no intention of waiting any longer. Chandler tightened his hold around the glass. 

“I think you should put that down now”

“No! I have to! You don't understand!

“You're right, I don't. So why can't you explain it to me”

Miles is still twirling the glass around and around on the dark desktop. Waiting for the argument that had yet to begin. 

“I need you on my side Miles, I can't have you going of on your own like that!”

Miles finally looks up from the half empty whiskey glass.

“You know it had to be done, the backup was late, and I had the situation under control”

“But it could have gone wrong!” 

He had stood up from the chair, and was leaning over the desk. Miles widened his eyes at the sudden outburst, but he didn't care.

“It could have gone all wrong, and you would not be sitting in front of me right now!”

He had walked around the desk, and Miles had stood up from the chair. Not that it would level out the hight difference between the two of them.

“How do you think I feel when you seem all too ready to throw yourself into the line of danger?”

Chandler had expected Miles to yell back at him. That was how things was supposed to work. One of them would do something the other did not like, they would be quiet for a while before one of them broke the silence, and started a shouting match. And when that was over they would avoid eye contact for a couple of days. Before one of them caved in and apologised.

But this? This quiet soft tone. Miles refusing to take the bait to start snipping back at him. This was new. And he had no idea what to say anymore.

“It, that, it's different when....”

“No it's not, I worry about you just as much when you throw caution to the wind”

“I, I understand, but...”

“But what?”

“I need you in my life more that you need me.”

He caught him of guard there. He decided to use Miles' stunned silence to elaborate.

“If I die you and the others would, I hope, mourn for a while, but then you move on. Someone else would come and take my place as a new DI”

Miles looked like he was about to protest, but Chandler pressed on.

“But if you die, then I honestly don't know what I would do”

He chuckled, and shook his head slowly.

“We have had our disagreements, and you made it clear that at first you thought of me as just another moving up in the system. But we worked through it, and somewhere along the line, after our fist heart to heart, you became one of the few people in my life I know I can always trust. Not that I don't trust the rest of the team, but I feel more secure with you. You will always tell me what you think and you accept me as I am. I have not had may people like that in my life. If something happened to you, I'm not sure if I would be able to go on, leading the rest of our team”

His mouth has gone dry from the long-winded explanation. Miles is looking like he for once does not know what to say. 

Chandler runs his hand trough his hair, feeling awkward and exposed now that his feelings are hanging in the air between them. 

He is shaken out of his thoughts when he felt Miles curls his fingers around his wrist. 

“Don't you dare think that I feel any less about you”

Miles' voice is thick with emotion.

Without really thinking about what he is doing, Chandler pulls Miles closer to him, wrapping the arm that Miles is not holding around the shorter man’s shoulders. 

They remain in that embrace for a while, with Chandler letting his hand slip into Miles' hair, and Miles caressing the inside of his wrist.

Their breathing is quiet and relaxed, and the air is filled with all that remained unsaid between them.


End file.
